
Bottoms up!
-- Promise Down --
07/10/2020
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
■ | Hard Rock |
Album artists:
■ | William “Lawson” Debaene | Vocals |
■ | Daniel “Dax” Aertssen | Guitars |
■ | Ronny Clé | Bass |
■ | Marc Peeters | Drums |
Review
written by Stijn “Metal Shredder” Daneels.
[METAL SHREDDER REPORTING]
Promise
Down’s guitarist Daniel has been following us for a long time now and it didn’t
take long for his band to offer us the chance to shred our way through Promise
Down’s debut EP “I Bleed Rock ‘N Roll.” Let the bloodletting commence!
[SHREDDING BASICS]
“I Bleed
Rock ‘N Roll” is the first EP from the Belgian hard rock band Promise Down. The
EP begins with “Turn To Break The Seal,” a fast-paced beat that reminds me a
lot of Motörhead thanks to the catchy, bass-heavy riffs, hectic drums and
gravely vocals. Not to mention the song’s about drinking Jack Daniel’s! The EP’s
second song, “Furious Masturbator,” is more sleaze rock inspired with joyful
guitars and obviously plenty of sexual innuendos! Born addiction will cause
some friction indeed.
Next up is “Don’t,”
a tune that begins with a peaceful acoustic intro before the song turns to furious
riffs and aggressive drum beats. It’s a nice musical metaphor of a man who was
enjoying a good long Sunday sleep after a Saturday night of partying and
drinking until he gets abruptly and prematurely woken up by his wife or girlfriend.
At least he’s willing to take the kids to school and do the dishes. The EP’s
fourth track, “Let It Out,” is just another energetic tune like the others,
nothing more, but certainly nothing less. And finally comes I Bleed Rock ‘N
Roll’s title track, a sweet anthem tune that honestly tells you that you’re
never too old to rock, especially when you bleed it.

[SHREDDING VISION]
I really
like Promise Down’s logo, it looks like a blend between Venom’s, Slipknot’s and
Evil Invaders’ respective emblems while it also looks a bit like a bottle cap. In
addition, I like the numerous blood splatters on the album’s cover art and disc,
taking the concept of bleeding rock n’ roll quite literally. As for the EP’s
themes, it’s the usual hard, glam & sleaze rock stuff about such politically
incorrect topics like alcohol consumption, partying, hangovers, sex and of
course rock ‘n roll.
[SHARPEST SHREDS & BLUNTEST BLADES]
Being a
huge Motörhead fan (and whisky lover), I obviously enjoyed the EP’s opening
track “Turn To Break The Seal” very much. It breathes Motörhead and it’s best
played loud! I also loved the catchiness of the next track, “Furious
Masturbator,” not to mention there aren’t many songs out there that explicitly deal
with the concept of self-loving.
Any negatives?
Well, Promise Down’s sound isn’t original in the slightest (not that that even
matters, I like what I’ve heard thus far), but I do wish there were 1 or 2 more
songs, maybe some acoustic intermission or instrumental to add some variety to
the package and to make the EP last longer than just 15 minutes.
[SHREDDER’S SCORECARD]
8 Jack
Daniel’s bottles out of 10. A short but very enjoyable debut EP, Promise Down
take their cues from the likes of Motörhead, Mötley Crüe and others and provide
5 songs of catchy, energetic hard rock with bass-heavy riffs, headbanging drums
and greasy vocals. Well-recommended! Now come “Turn To Break The Seal!”